Gorephilia - In the Eye of Nothing
Dark Descent Records
Death Metal
9 songs (42:51)
Release year: 2020
Official Label Bandcamp
Reviewed by Goat

Continuing on after the sad death of their vocalist Henri Emil Kuula at the age of just 29, Finnish death machine Gorephilia play a conservative form of death metal that is possibly a little too heavily indebted to Morbid Angel and, to a much lesser extent, Immolation. The band (including ...And Oceans drummer Kauko Kuusisalo and Cataleptic's Tami Luukkonen) are a tight unit, intensifying their sound on In the Eye of Nothing if not particularly diversifying it. Yet that's by no means a bad thing; Gorephilia are on their third full-length here, with guitarist Jukka Ako taking over on vocals, and they have been doing this long enough to be good at it. The songs here range from groovy neckcrushers like Perpetual Procession, slow yet not doomily paced, to more galloping pounders like Ouroboran Labyrinth, clearly containing plenty of Covenant-era DNA - and if you're a fan at all of Morbid Angel-styled death metal (and who isn't?) then there's much to appreciate about In The Eye of Nothing.

Beyond that, it's difficult to really provide much evidence that there's more to the band than being something of a tribute act, however. Devotion Upon the Worm does slow into doom-death pace for a foray into 'cavernous' atmosphere and is perhaps a little too long at over six minutes' length, but it keeps your attention well. Nothing here even begins to touch at being progressive, but the technical interplay that opens Simplicity of Decay is impressive and both guitarists have plenty of moments to show off. Even interludes Consensus and Death Dream are solid, bursts of sinister ambience that break up the death metal effectively. Especially Morbid Angellian points such as Not for the Weak's rumbling mid-pacer with leads that could have come direct from Azagthoth's guitar will truly test your love for the Floridians, but Gorephilia's admiration and inspiration is clear and wholehearted, and they are undoubtedly good at what they do. If you've ever wanted a glimpse of an alternative universe where Covenant remained the focus of Morbid Angel, then In the Eye of Nothing shines brightly.

Killing Songs :
Ouroboran Labyrinth, Simplicity of Decay
Goat quoted 75 / 100
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